


Lack of Imagination

by Hero0fOlympus



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-14
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-02-02 08:43:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12723309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hero0fOlympus/pseuds/Hero0fOlympus
Summary: Just small pieces, not really romantic just general interaction. I will write romance when I get better at writing these characters. Also, the title is from Garak's quote "The truth is usually just an excuse for a lack of imagination." implying that this fic is the truth (as it is lack of imagination, so no lies). Hopefully some people picked up on that other than me.





	1. Routine Physical

Garak was sewing a dress of a design popular on Bajor at the moment and humming when someone walked into his shop. He heard the bell ring and he got up, sighing and putting the dress away. He looked up, only to see the Doctor standing there, looking fairly annoyed.  
“What can I do for you, Doctor?” He inquired as he could see the young man was itching to get something done  
“Garak, were you aware that all residents of the station have to report in for a physical at least once every six months?” He asked, sounding exasperated.  
“Yes, I am.”  
The Doctor looked like he was going to explode. “Then why, why didn’t you report in for your scheduled physical yesterday!?” he almost yelled  
“ I didn't feel like it.” was all Garak said.  
“Didn’t feel like it? Didn’t feel like it? Garak, it is required of you as a resident of this station! There has been an outbreak of a particularly nasty strain of Bajoran flu, and I would like to know if I need to quarantine you or not!” Ahh, the cause of the problem, Garak thought. The Doctor had probably been treating grumpy flu patients all day and it had made him irritable.   
“Maybe doctor, you should come back tomorrow when you have more time.” he tried, not really thinking it would work, more hoping.  
“Garak, I have another 5 minutes off and if I don’t check you for that flu you could infect someone! Please, just let me do my scans!”  
“My, my Doctor, you sound like you think I definitely have this flu. Fine, do your scans. You’ll find nothing.”  
The Doctor smiled. “Thank you, Garak. Now hold still for just a moment.” The Doctor held his medical tricorder out, walking around Garak and scanning his vital functions. Garak smiled knowingly. He was fairly sure he didn’t have the flu, why he hadn’t had a Bajoran customer for weeks!  
“Garak, I’m afraid you are wrong.” the Doctor's voice penetrated the silence and stopped his thoughts dead.  
“What do you mean, Doctor?” He inquired, pretending he didn’t already know.   
“You have the flu, Garak,” he said with a hint of smugness in his voice.  
“Your readings must be wrong, let me see that!” He exclaimed, snatching the tricorder out of the Doctors hand. He read over the data once, twice and only a third time did he accept what he was reading.   
“Well Garak, are my scans wrong?” said the Doctor in a very smug tone.  
“No,” said Garak, annoyed at having to admit it.   
“Now Garak, you need to go to your quarters, which I will quarantine. I will prescribe medication which you must take for a few days until the scans show the virus has left your body. When that happens the quarantine will be over and you can leave. Understood?”  
“Yes,” Garak said, in a somewhat subdued voice. He started walking towards the door. As he was about to head to his quarters the Doctor called after him, “Oh and Garak, make sure to stay hydrated and get lots of rest.” The Doctor smiled haughty at him and left the shop behind him. They went off on their separate ways, and anyone watching would have seen a slightly happier Doctor Bashir moving towards the infirmary and an very irritated Garak going towards his quarters.


	2. Are you trying to tell me something?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't know where this came from but I thought it was ok so here it is.

“Garak, are you trying to tell me something?”  
Doctor Julian Bashir looked across at his companion, a smirk on his face.  
“Whatever could you mean by that, Doctor?” Garak countered, mocking confusion. If someone didn’t know Garak as well as the Doctor did, it might have slipped them by, but the Doctor was sure he heard a note of smugness in the Cardassians voice.   
“I mean, that the second work of Cardassian literature you have decided to show me is a novel about a group of spies.”  
“What are you trying to imply Doctor?” Garak replied, feigning innocence and hurt.  
The Doctor took a deep breath “I think, that the first work of literature you showed me is the most highly regarded on Cardassia, and that makes sense since The Never-Ending Sacrifice is all about service to the state. But, I think this second book might be your personal favourite.”  
“Is that so Doctor?” Garak smiled knowingly “Please tell me what leads you to this conclusion.”  
“You might be a spy, and if you are you relate to the spy characters in this book. In fact, I think you might have given me this to read as a clue that you are a spy!”  
The Doctor smiled triumphantly, which faded quickly when he saw that the amusement on Garak’s face had not changed.  
“Ah, but Doctor, what if I gave you that book to send you on an endless chase that will lead nowhere because I enjoy seeing you run in circles?”  
Garak smiled slightly and waited for a response.  
“You mean you are trying to send me on a wild goose chase.”  
The Doctor looked across from him, only to find a look of utmost confusion on Garak’s face.  
“Doctor, if I may ask, what is a goose? And why would you wildly chase it? Is this some weird human expression I am unaware of?”  
Garak sat patiently waiting for an answer while The Doctor did his best not to laugh out loud.  
“Well Garak, a goose is a type of bird and a wild one is very hard to catch so it is a chase that will prove hopeless.”  
The Doctor was trying really hard now not to laugh and was thinking about how funny this would be to tell to his friends for many years. How he ended up explaining what a wild goose chase is to a Cardassian tailor. Garak spoke, pulling the Doctor from his thoughts.  
“My my, time has got away from me. I have a client coming in for a fitting two minutes ago. Sorry Doctor, I must be going. Thank you for the enlightening description of a wild goose chase, it is an interesting human expression I will use in the future. Goodbye.”  
Garak got up and walked away from the table, leaving the Doctor to burst into laughter for a minute. Composing himself, he left the replimat to start his shift at sickbay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I googled the origin of wild goose chase for this and found Shakespeare used it, which I did not expect but ok.


	3. Racquetball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DS9 malfunctions, and leaves Julian with an apology to give.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I know that the outfit Julian wears for racquetball is one piece, but this one is not, cause I say so.

Garak hummed softly to himself as he hemmed a nice-looking dress. He had been making it for months now, in his spare time between making easier clothes to keep the shelves stocked and altering other clothes. He was actually quite proud of it. As he hummed and finished off the hem, he thought that maybe he could get used to being a tailor. It was at that very moment of peace that a guest barged through the door of his shop, huffing, and puffing.

“Garak, can you spare a few moments?” Doctor Bashir said, breathing in on every second word. He looked very out of breath and was in an outfit he used to play racquetball on the holosuite. The most curious part, however, was the fact that the towel that normally hung around his neck after a game, was held tight against his chest.  
“Yes, I believe I can,” Garak said, intrigued by all this. “What is it, Doctor?”  
“I, um well, you see…” The doctor trailed off, as if unsure of how to explain whatever had happened.  
“Doctor, start at the beginning,” Garak said, his intrigue growing by the second.  
“Ok, well you see, I was playing racquetball on the holosuite,” That much is evident, thought Garak. “And, well I was playing Jadzia, and uhh, she won the first few games, but then I beat her the third time and….” He still seemed unsure of what to say. Garak sighed. He was going to have to ask another question to move this along if he wanted to finish the dress today.

“Doctor, why did you come here afterward? Surely it can’t just be to tell me Dax beat you at racquetball? Especially when we both know you let her win.”  
Bashir sighed. “So, you know how the station has occasional malfunctions?” He said. Garak was getting annoyed. He wanted to know the point, and the Doctor was taking to long to get there. “Yes, Doctor, everyone does.” He said, and he could see the Doctor notice the impatience in his voice. “Well, the holosuite momentarily changed the racquet into a bat’leth, and, well, the safeties were off. Jadzia and I didn’t see any need to check if they were on or off, we were just playing racquetball, so…” He must’ve seen the apprehension on Garak’s face, because he then sputtered out, “No, no, neither of us got hurt.” Garak’s shoulders relaxed slightly. “Then, Doctor, what happened?” Garak asked, wondering how this all fit in, and why the towel was hung sheepishly over the front of the Doctor’s racquetball outfit. Garak smiled for a second. It was a well-designed outfit, he thought. Of course, he had designed it himself, but he still thought it was uncommonly good for a racquetball outfit.

“Garak, I’m sorry, I know you spent time making it but, when the racquet changed, I tried to dodge the bat'leth, and as I dropped it, it cut through… well, it’s best I show you.” Garak watched in horror as the Doctor slowly removed the towel to reveal a long cut down the center of his handiwork. Garak took a deep breath, but before he could speak, the Doctor started talking again.   
“Please, Garak, will you mend it? I’m sorry to ask at this time, I can see you’re busy, but I don’t have another one and I promised Miles a game this evening.”  
Garak sighed and got up. “Of course I will mend it, Doctor. Now, please go into one of the changing rooms in the back and I will give you a spare shirt to wear as I mend it.” The stress and remorse previously on the Doctor’s face turned to happiness.   
“Thank you so much, Garak.” He said while smiling. Garak smiled back and went to get a spare shirt from the rack while the Doctor went into the changing room. He grabbed a bright orange one, his smile a bit crueler now, he walked back over and passed the shirt over the changing room door, and grabbed the Doctor’s damaged shirt from over the door... He heard a groan as the Doctor saw the hideous shirt, and laughed quietly to himself, as he sat down and began to sew the slash together.

The Doctor came out of the changing room soon after and they talked idly about books while Garak fixed the shirt. Garak could’ve reminded the Doctor that he didn’t need to stay, and could just come back when the shirt was ready, but Garak did like to talk to him, and so he decided not to mention it. After the shirt was finished, they said their goodbyes, and the Doctor left to play Racquetball with Chief O'Brien. Garak smiled to himself as he picked up his dress, and started to sew a pattern onto it. Days on DS9 always had a way of becoming eventful, no day so far had been dull. Maybe he would start to really fit in here. Maybe it could become his home.


	4. Julian's secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jadzia is worried about Julian and comes to Garak for help.

Garak sighed and put down the dress he was working on. Today had been a hard week, with the station in uproar and everyone hurrying about. War was upon them, and none of the Starfleet officers he had seen in the shop this past week were taking it well. You would think they were trained for all the worst case scenarios and how to handle them, but then again, humans did have a habit of breaking under pressure. They seemed to freeze a lot or try to save all when that was not a likely outcome. They are a very sentimental species.

Because of the increased tension and the war, Garak had been hurried along by many of his clients to finish their clothes faster. He didn’t see the point in them suddenly fussing over timing. Unless they had an urgent need for the item, what was the point? They seemed to think that if they were blown up tomorrow, having their clothing fixed by then would be desirable. It wouldn’t matter anyway, as all their clothes and everything they own would be destroyed anyway. Ah, well, he would never fully understand humans. They had weirdly emotionally driven customs behind the pretense of logic, and all used so-called logic to justify clearly emotional viewpoints.

Garak’s train of thought (that was the expression, right?) was cut off when someone came bursting into his shop. He looked up and was slightly surprised. It was Jadzia Dax, looking at him worried and about to speak. He waited for whatever this was and prepared for his day to get a lot more stressful.  
“Garak, have you noticed anything off about Julian recently?” Dax asked him, worry creeping in around her words. This was not anything near what Garak had expected, and it confused him.   
“What do you mean, Dax?” He inquired, slightly concerned by her tone. He hadn’t yet met the doctor for their almost daily lunch yet, and Dax’s sudden question made him worried.   
“Well, he’s taken a day off which he almost never does unless he’s sick, and he told me to tell you that you daily lunch is canceled. According to the computer he’s been in his quarters alone for the day so far. Julian wouldn’t take a random day off in the middle of a war, something is wrong.” She spoke fast with a nervous edge to her voice. Garak started to become worried too. The doctor never canceled their lunches. If he didn’t want to go, he simply didn’t turn up. Then again, that hadn’t happened in a long time. The doctor had become more comfortable with him, and Garak might even call him a friend. Not in front of him, or anyone else, but in his own head. 

“Well, Dax, I assume you want me to check on him because you are on duty,” Garak said. He started preparing himself to face the doctor and whatever demons were keeping him in his quarters. Garak knew that the doctor had many hidden secrets, some of which he was sure were very important. He almost wished sometimes he could just trade secrets with him. All of their lunches were just each of them trying to figure out the others secrets, and he was tired of it. He wanted to actually get to know the doctor, and to let the doctor get to know him. He had never really had a friend, and he so desperately wanted someone to tell all that weighed on his mind every day. The doctor's secrets were less obvious than his, but someone with the secrets Garak had could always tell when there was something behind someone's eyes. He suspected that this sudden shutdown had something to do with one of the doctor's secrets, but what the secret was or this events relation to it would likely remain a mystery to him. 

Jadzia spoke to answer his presumption after a short pause. “Yes Garak, that is what I was going to ask. I have to get back to my station really soon, will you please at least consider going?” She asked. She was already in the almost pleading stage because she clearly didn’t think Garak would go check on the doctor of his own volition. Garak, wanting to shock her and deciding for once to be truthful, replied.  
“You don’t need to coerce me, Dax. I am worried about him too after everything you’ve said and will go at once.” Dax looked at him suspiciously and probably suspected he was lying, left his tailor shop with a nod. Garak got ready to leave, quickly putting up the orange shirt for washing that the doctor had worn the day before when Garak was mending his racquetball outfit. Walking out of the tailor shop, he noticed he was walking in the brisk and abrupt manner all the humans of the station had been using since the Dominion war started. He tried to relax his posture but to no avail. 

Garak quickly arrived at the doctors quarters, and stood awkwardly at the door for a moment, unsure of what to do. He snapped out of his awkwardness and used the comm on the door. He heard the doctor’s voice inside. “Come in!” it yelled. Garak could almost hear the doctor putting layers of armour around his secrets and his feelings as he walked into the doctors quarters. 

“Garak,” the doctor started, looking genuinely surprised. “What is it?” Garak paused, unsure of what to say. He decided to start it out safe.  
“Doctor, is there any reason you canceled our lunch?” He asked. The doctors face immediately changed, and his expression became even more guarded.  
“No, I just wanted a day off from everything. Socializing and working both. Speaking of that, how did you know I had requested a day off?” The doctor answered with another question, clearly dodging the original question. Garak almost sighed. How was he going to do this? The doctor was too good at this game to ever be beaten, even by him. He would never get the answer as to why he suddenly took a day off, and he would waste his time. Garak decided then to give up. Something in him told him to stay, but he was already at a loss for words. He couldn’t possibly hold a coherent conversation in these circumstances.   
“I have my ways of knowing. Now, if that is all, I will be going now.” Garak started to walk out the door, but turned around when the doctor called out to him “Garak, wait!”   
The doctor took a deep breath. “Garak, yesterday you said ‘we both know you let her win’ about my racquetball games with Jadzia, I just wanted to ask how you knew.” He said, and Garak was surprised. He admitted to letting Dax win. Garak decided that that admission deserved an honest answer. 

“Doctor, you were on the racquetball team at the academy. Of course you let Dax win. Sure, she is good, but you are better than almost everyone on the station. It is one of your areas of skill.” Garak answered, still unsure why this question was relevant to anything. He saw the doctor relax, and he sat down in a chair with a sigh.   
“Thank you, Garak. I will see you tomorrow.” It was clearly an invitation to leave, but Garak lingered for a second longer, unsure why. He then turned and exited the doctors quarters, making his way back to his shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone didn't get it (SPOILER ALERT) the reason why Julian is so scared about Garak's comment is because he thinks Garak has figured out that he is genetically enhanced.


End file.
